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How to Show Website Favicons in Safari for Mac

written by applenws

Modern versions of Safari for Mac include favicon (favorite icon) support, offering a visual indicator of webpages in the titlebar and tab bar of the Safari browser. Nearly every other web browser on the Mac (and other operating systems) has had favicon support for quite some time, but this is a relatively new addition to Safari and to show the website icons in Safari for Mac you must first enable favicon support in preferences as the feature is not enabled by default.

For some quick background, most websites have favicons that help to differentiate a website URL when a site is active in a browser, bookmarked, or favorited. The small favicon is next to the webpages name when shown in a tab or window of a web browser.

How to Enable Website Icons / favicons in Safari for Mac

  1. Open the Safari app on the Mac if you haven’t done so already
  2. Pull down the Safari menu and choose “Preferences”
  3. Choose “Tabs”
  4. Toggle the switch for “Show website icons in tabs” so that it’s checked and enabled

    5. How to show safari website favicons on Mac

  5. Close out of Safari preferences

The website icons are immediately visible in any tabbed window in Safari or bookmark bar of Safari. Just look at the top of the tabs section of a Safari browser window to see the favicons.

Showing Safari website favicons on Mac

Of course if you decide you don’t like favicons in Safari, you can hide them again just as easily as you enabled them.

How to Hide / Disable Website Icons / favicons in Safari for Mac

  1. Open the Safari app on the Mac
  2. Pull down the Safari menu and select “Preferences”
  3. Select “Tabs”
  4. Toggle the switch for “Show website icons in tabs” so that it is not checked, thereby disabling favicons in Safari

    5. Safari favicons disabled on Mac

  5. Close out of Safari preferences and use the browser as usual

Hiding Favicons is the default setting in Safari, so this is just returning to that.

If you don’t find this feature available in your version of Safari it’s likely because it does not support favicons, as only modern releases of Safari support the display of website favorite icons. You can either update Safari to the newest version, or you can also download Safari Technology Preview which has the latest beta features available to it, including favicon support and other features that may appear in future releases (the tech preview is sort of like a public beta of Safari).

For anyone wondering, this works the same on the Safari final versions, as well as Safari Technology Preview and Safari Developer Preview builds as well.

Source: OSX Daily

January 23, 2019 0 comment
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How to Change Microsoft Office Theme on Mac

written by applenws

The Microsoft Office suite of apps include distinct visual themes that make those apps easy to identify, for example Microsoft Word on Mac has a dark blue visual theme on the Mac, Excel is green, and Powerpoint is red / orange.

If you’d like to change the appearance theme of Microsoft Office apps, including Word, Excel, or Powerpoint on the Mac, so that they visually match the light theme or the dark mode theme appearance of Mac OS, you can do so with an adjustment in the Microsoft Office app settings.

How to Change Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) Theme on Mac

This change can be invoked from any of the Microsoft Office apps, and the theme change applies to all other Microsoft Office apps too. In other words, if you change the theme in Microsoft Word, it will impact the theme in Microsoft Excel as well, and vice versa. For the walkthrough here we are demonstrating this process in Microsoft Word.

  1. Pull down the “Word” menu and choose “Preferences” *

    2. How to change Microsoft Office Word Excel visual themes on Mac

  2. Go to “General”

    3. How to change Microsoft Office Word Excel visual themes on Mac

  3. Look under the ‘Personalize’ section to find “Office Theme:” and choose “Classic”

    4. How to change Microsoft Office Word Excel visual themes on Mac

  4. Exit out of Office Preferences

You will get a little notification informing you that changing the Microsoft Office theme will impact all other Microsoft Office apps.

The visual theme change occurs immediately, and assuming you choose Classic you will find the colorful window dressing is stripped and returned to match the grays of whatever the Mac OS theme is set to.

Microsoft Office and Word apps using default Mac visual appearance theme

Obviously what the appearance of Office looks like will depend on what the Mac default appearance theme is set to, and if the computer only supports the Light mode Mac theme then Office will look that way, whereas if the MacOS version is new enough and Office is updated to a recent version, the Office suite apps will respect the Dark Mode theme in Mac OS if that is in use.

* Note we are demonstrating this with the Microsoft Word app, but you can do the same from Excel or Powerpoint by pulling down the app-name menu (i.e.; “Excel” or “Powerpoint” menus, then choosing Preferences). All else is the same.

How to Change Microsoft Office App Themes Back to Colorful on Mac

You can reverse this change in any Microsoft Office app by returning to the “General” Preferences and selecting the “Colorful” Office theme.

  1. Pull down the Office app-name menu (i.e. Word, Excel) and choose “Preferences” *
  2. Select “General”
  3. Look under the ‘Personalize’ section to find “Office Theme:” and choose “Colorful”

Once again the change made in one Microsoft Office app will impact the other apps themes too.

Default Colorful theme in Mac Microsoft Word and Office

Whether or not you like the colorful theme or the classic theme is entirely a matter of personal taste. Many Office users really like the distinct colors of Office apps because it offers an immediate visual cue as to what app is actively in use, but other Office users may prefer to have Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or Outlook look more like the general appearance theme on the Mac.

Source: OSX Daily

January 21, 2019 0 comment
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How to Disable Keyboard Backlighting on MacBook Pro or Air

written by applenws

Keyboard backlighting is one of the best keyboard features on Mac laptops, illuminating the keyboard to help you see the keys better in low light situations. And let’s face it, it also just plain looks cool too. Most MacBook Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Air users like the keyboard backlighting feature, but there are some users who might not, and there also some scenarios where some Mac laptop users may wish to completely disable the keyboard backlighting feature.

This article will show you how to completely disable the keyboard backlighting on Mac laptops should you want to do so.

How to Disable Keyboard Backlighting on Mac Laptops

Here’s how you can turn off keyboard backlighting on MacBook Pro, Air, and MacBook:

  1. Go to the  Apple menu and to “System Preferences” then select the ‘Keyboard’ preference panel
  2. Under the ‘Keyboard’ section uncheck the box for “Adjust keyboard brightness in low light”
  3. Now press the “F5” key repeatedly (or fn + F5, or find the keyboard backlight button on Touch Bar) until the key backlighting is off

That’s it, keyboard backlighting will now be off. This is visibly obvious, so give the keys a look or take them into dim or dark lighting to confirm.

It’s important to turn off the “Adjust keyboard brightness in low light” setting first, otherwise you’ll find the keyboard backlighting sometimes turns itself back on again depending on what the ambient lighting situation is.

How to Disable Keyboard Backlighting on Mac Laptops

If you want to reverse this change and re-enable keyboard backlighting on the Mac laptop series:

  1. Go to the  Apple menu then to “System Preferences” and choose the ‘Keyboard’ preferences
  2. Under the ‘Keyboard’ section check to enable “Adjust keyboard brightness in low light”
  3. Press “F6” key repeatedly (or fn + F6, or find the keyboard backlight button on Touch Bar) until keyboard backlighting is back on and at the brightness setting you desire

If you’re trying to turn keyboard backlighting on again but see a keyboard lighting locked logo on the screen, it’s probably because the light sensor is being activated by a bright light in the room or from elsewhere. Nonetheless if you’re convinced there’s another issue, follow this troubleshooting guide if keyboard backlighting is not working on a MacBook and you’ll probably be able to fix it pretty quickly.

This applies to the backlit keyboards on MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air, as the Apple desktop keyboards don’t have keyboard backlighting.

If you know of another method to disable keyboard backlighting on Mac laptop, share with us in the comments below!

Source: OSX Daily

January 20, 2019 0 comment
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How to Save Voice Memos on the Mac as Audio Files

written by applenws

If you have recorded voice memos on the Mac you may have then decided you’d like to save a voice memo as an audio file. The “File” menu on the Mac has contained the various save and export options since the beginning of the Mac platform, but for whatever reason the Voice Memos app on Mac currently does not have any “Save” or “Export” options within the Voice Memos app. So how do you save a file in Voice Memos for Mac? We’ll show you a few different ways.


To be clear, when you record a voice memo on the Mac, it saves automatically within the app. The purpose of the article here is to save an audio file directly, giving direct file access to the already recorded voice memo.

Save Audio Files from Voice Memos on Mac with Drag & Drop

Assuming you have already recorded a voice memo, you can save the recorded voice memos as follows:

  1. At the primary Voice Memos screen, locate the file on the left sidebar that you want to save
  2. Click and hold on the voice memo you want to save, then drag it onto the Mac desktop or into a folder within the Finder

    3. How to save Voice Memos as audio files on Mac with drag and drop

  3. The voice memo will save as an .m4a audio file, sharing the same name as the voice memo is labeled

    4. Voice Memos file saved as audio file on Mac

You can drag and drop the selected voice memo to just about anywhere on the Mac, gaining access to the .m4a audio file this way.

This is probably the best way to save a voice memo from the Voice Memos app on Mac.

Saving Audio Files from Voice Memos on Mac with Sharing

Another way to save audio files from Voice Memos on the Mac is by sharing the audio file, either with yourself or someone else.

  1. At the primary Voice Memos screen, select the voice memo you want to save by sharing
  2. Now click the arrow Sharing button in the upper right corner, then choose the method of sharing you wish to use; Mail, Messages, AirDrop, Notes, etc

    3. How to share voice memos on Mac to save audio file

This will share the recorded voice memo as an audio file with the recipient. You can also share with yourself this way, gaining access to the audio file which saves as a result.

The Sharing based approach is basically the same as with voice memos on iOS.

Another option is to go through iCloud Drive to gain access to the Voice Memos recorded audio files, since the Voice Memos are recorded and automatically saved into iCloud.

It might be strange to not have the normal “File” menu options in a Mac app given the history of the Macintosh, but the lack of “Save” and “Export” options in the File menu likely relates to the fact that Voice Memos on Mac is a Marzipan app, which means it’s basically an iPad app on the Mac. It’s possible these Marzipan apps will gain more features down the road, like gaining typical File menu and Save options, but only time will tell. For now, try the drag and drop method, or the sharing approach.

Source: OSX Daily

January 16, 2019 0 comment
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Screen Flickering on Retina MacBook Air 2018? Here’s a Workaround Fix

written by applenws

Some 2018 MacBook Air (and possibly 2018 MacBook Pro) computers may exhibit seemingly random screen flickering, where the entire display backlight blinks and flickers. This can be alarming, since often screen flickering indicates a hardware issue.

But in this case, the MacBook Air screen flickering may actually be software related, and after some investigation it appears the issue relates some specific settings on these new Macs.

While this is likely an uncommon issue, we’ll discuss how to reproduce the screen flickering issue on impacted 2018 MacBook Air hardware, and also a few workarounds that appear to stop it from happening.

Reproducing the 2018 MacBook Air Screen Flickering

If you have a 2018 MacBook Air that is impacted by the screen flickering issue you have probably already observed it by now, as the display flickers in a non-subtle manner. If not, and you want to test for this on you particular 2018 Mac laptop, here are three different ways to reproduce the problem:

  • Shine a flashlight near the front-facing camera where the ambient light sensor is located near the top of the display, then wave the flashlight around a bit so that the bright light is hitting the sensor sporadically (you can use the iPhone flashlight)
  • OR: Take the MacBook Air into a brightly lit room, for example where sunlight will reflect on the display. While there is a reflection on the screen, turn the brightness to about half, then crank the brightness all the way to the maximum setting
  • OR: In a brightly lit room where a light reflection will be cast on the MacBook Air display, turn the brightness up all the way, then open and close the lid (don’t close the lid all the way to cause sleep) or pick up the laptop and wave it around so that the reflection is moving around on the display glass

I personally can reproduce the screen flickering consistently with a flashlight shining off and onto the top of the display, and with the brightly lit room and glare approaches on a 2018 MacBook Air (BTO w/ 16GB RAM 512GB SSD).

Obviously having a display flicker off and on with a brand new Mac is not particularly encouraging, as often display and screen flickering can indicate a hardware issue. But after some investigation it appears this might actually be software related and not a hardware problem at all (nonetheless if you are concerned about a hardware problem, contacting Apple may be wise. A new 2018 MacBook Air or Pro is likely covered the standard Apple warranty, so reaching out Apple support is a valid consideration).

2 Workarounds to Stop 2018 MacBook Air Screen Flickering

There are two possible workarounds to the screen flickering issue that are worth trying, both of which suggest this could be a software issue rather than a problem with the display hardware or any other hardware component. Note that neither resetting SMC on the 2018 MacBook Air nor resetting PRAM / NVRAM on the machine has any effect on resolving the display flicker. So what does?

1: Use the Default “Color LCD” Display Profile

If you use a custom calibrated display profile on the 2018 MacBook Air, try using the default “Color LCD” display profile instead. You can change this setting in the ‘Color’ section of the “Displays” preference panel, found in System Preferences.

Set the default Color LCD display profile

Now try reproducing the screen flicker with the flashlight or screen glare method as discussed above.

2: Disable ‘Automatically Adjust Brightness’

Disabling ‘Automatically Adjust Brightness’ on the MacBook Air seems to stop the screen flickering from happening, regardless of any bright lighting or screen glare, or using the flashlight method discussed above.

Disable screen automatic brightness adjustment

You can toggle this setting off or on in the ‘Display’ section of the “Displays” preference panel, also found in System Preferences.

Uncommon, but impacts some 2018 MacBook Air and 2018 MacBook Pro?

While this is likely not a particularly common problem, it has impacted enough new Retina MacBook Air owners to surface as a discussion topic in various online forums including MacRumors Forums and various Apple Discussions threads (1, 2, 3, etc). You can also find similar threads pertaining to not only the 2018 MacBook Air but also the 2018 MacBook Pro.

Here is a very short (3 second) video showing the screen flickering on a 2018 MacBook Air when an iPhone flashlight is causing screen glare near the top of the display:

And possibly related is a similar issue shown in the video below on a MacBook Pro 2018 model, of which there are various reports found online as well, though it’s unclear if this screen flicker is caused by the same issue, or if it can be reproduced with the flashlight method or screen glare as discussed above.

Anyway, if you have a 2018 model MacBook Air or 2018 MacBook Pro, and you have any experience with the display backlight seemingly randomly flickering, try to reproduce it with the steps above, and try the workarounds offered like disabling automatic backlight adjustment. And if you’ve had this issue but managed it through another method, or if you contacted Apple and they resolved it for you, share that too. Let us know your own experiences in the comments below!

Source: OSX Daily

January 16, 2019 0 comment
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How to Reset SMC on MacBook Air & MacBook Pro (2018 and Later)

written by applenws

Resetting the SMC on newer model MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers from the 2018 model year onward is a different process than resetting the Mac SMC on prior Macs, this is because of the T2 security chip that controls Touch ID and secure boot functionality on the latest Mac laptops. Despite being a different procedure, resetting the SMC on the 2018 MacBook Air and 2018 MacBook Pro can still be a necessary troubleshooting procedure to resolve some particular issues.

For some quick background, the System Management Controller (SMC) on a Mac is in charge of managing various hardware components of the computer, including fans and thermal management, battery and power management, display and keyboard backlighting, external displays, and other similar low-level hardware functions. Thus if you are experiencing issues with a Mac that pertain to these type of hardware components and functionality, resetting the SMC on the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro may be part of the troubleshooting process, and often an effective one at that.

As mentioned a moment ago, resetting the SMC on these new T2 equipped Macs, including MacBook Air 2018 (and later) and MacBook Pro 2018 (and later) is a different process than resetting SMC on prior Mac models. This tutorial will demonstrate the steps required to reset the SMC on the newest Mac laptop models in the Apple lineup.

How to Reset SMC on MacBook Air & MacBook Pro (2018 or later)

Resetting the System Management Controller on modern Mac laptops with the T2 security chip is different from the SMC reset process on other Macs, and it’s now a two-step process. Sometimes simply completing the first step alone will resolve the issue, but proceeding with both part 1 and part 2 of the SMC reset process for the troubleshooting process is generally a valid approach on these laptops.

Resetting SMC on MacBook Air / Pro (2018 and later) – Part 1

  1. Go to the  Apple menu and choose “Shut Down” to turn off the Mac
  2. After the Mac is turned off, press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds
  3. Release holding the power button, then wait a few more seconds
  4. Now press the Power button again to turn the Mac on

Check to see if the problem is still occurring on the Mac, sometimes the steps above alone will resolve the issue. If the issue persists, proceed to the next set of steps.

Resetting SMC on MacBook Pro / Air (2018 and later) – Part 2

  1. Go to the  Apple menu and choose “Shut Down” to turn off the Mac
  2. After the Mac is turned off, press and hold the right SHIFT key, and the left OPTION key, and the left CONTROL key, for 7 seconds

    3. Reset MacBook Pro or Air SMC 2018 onward 1

  3. While still holding those keys, now press and hold the POWER button for 7 more seconds

    4. Reset MacBook Pro or Air SMC 2018 onward 2

  4. Release all of the buttons and keys, then wait a few more seconds
  5. Now press the Power button again to turn the Mac on

Whatever the issue with the System Management Controller was should now be resolved, assuming the problem was with the SMC in the first place anyway.

If after resetting the SMC the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air continues to experience problems, then perhaps the SMC reset failed in which you can simply try the process again, or the problem may not be related to the SMC, or the issue may not be resolvable by a simple SMC reset.

Remember that SMC related issues are almost always related to hardware issues, like blasting runaway fans, or backlit keyboards not working, or USB-C ports not properly charging the Mac, things of that nature, and SMC related difficulties pretty much never pertain to software or system software.

Problems with system software are sometimes resolved by restoring from a prior backup, or by reinstalling MacOS itself, and problems with software is often resolved by updating the software, or deleting it and reinstalling it, or trashing related preferences.

It’s important to note that the above method of resetting the SMC pertains only to T2 equipped portable Macs, like MacBook Air and MacBook Pro from 2018 onward, and not with any other Mac or older Mac model. If you have a different Mac, then you can learn how to reset those other Mac models SMC here.

Source: OSX Daily

January 14, 2019 0 comment
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How to Disable Chrome Automatic Sign-In to Google Services

written by applenws

The latest versions of Google Chrome have a feature called Chrome sign-in that causes the Chrome web browser to login to itself when you login to another Google web service like Gmail or YouTube. In practice this means you’ll have your Google profile picture tucked into the upper right corner of every Chrome window which is linked to your Google account.

Some Chrome users find Chrome sign-in to be great, while others may not like it. If you fall into the latter camp and don’t like automatic Chrome Google sign-in, then fortunately the latest versions of Chrome make it easier to disable the Chrome automatic sign-in feature. We’ll show you how to turn this capability off.

How to Disable Chrome Automatic Google Sign-In

  1. Open Chrome and update to a newer version if you have not done so already
  2. Enter in the URL address bar the following Chrome settings link *:

    3. chrome://settings/privacy

  3. Locate ‘Allow Chrome sign-in’ and toggle this feature OFF

    4. How to disable Chrome sign-in to Google

  4. Quit and relaunch Chrome for the change to take effect

That’s it, now you can use Chrome web browser to login to sites like Gmail or YouTube, without logging into the Chrome web browser itself automatically.

* You can also access the same Chrome sign-in settings toggle by going to Chrome Settings then to “Advanced” and finding it under the “Privacy and Security” section.

This trick should work to disable Chrome automatic sign-in to Google web services on every Chrome web browser on every platform that Chrome is available on, including Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS.

This is just one of a variety of more recent changes to the Chrome browser which have been somewhat polarizing to longtime Chrome users, a few others include hiding the full URL and subdomains of some website links, the redesigned UI theme, and some curiously persistent Chrome autofill suggestions with certain entries that weren’t intended to be saved. Fortunately all of these issues are relatively simple to adjust.

If you know of any other methods to disable the automatic Google / Chrome login feature, share with us in the comments below! Otherwise, feel free to browse around other Chrome browser tips here.

Source: OSX Daily

January 13, 2019 0 comment
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How to Record Voice Memos on Mac

written by applenws

Recording voice notes on the Mac is now easier than ever thanks to the appropriately named Voice Memos application in Mac OS. While Mac users have long been able to record sound and audio with QuickTime Player, the latest versions of MacOS system software include a built-in Voice Memos app that aims to make voice memo recording a bit easier and more centralized within a dedicated app for that purpose.

Conveniently, the Voice Memos app for Mac also syncs through iCloud with the accompanying iOS app, so Voice Memos that have been recorded on iPhone or iPad that are using the same Apple ID will also find the recordings available to them. This is particularly great if you have multiple devices within the Apple ecosystem, since all voice memos will be accessible from any of your other Mac, iPhone, or iPad devices too.


The Voice Memos app is only available on modern MacOS releases, meaning anything beyond MacOS Mojave 10.14.x will have the feature. Earlier versions of Mac system software can instead use the QuickTime audio capture approach for recording sound as discussed here.

How to Record Voice Memos on Mac

Ready to capture and record some voice memos on a Mac? That’s simple:

  1. Open the “Voice Memos” application, found within the /Applications folder in Mac OS (or you can open it through Launchpad or Spotlight)

    2. Voice Memos for Mac

  2. Click the red button to begin recording a new voice memo

    3. How to record a Voice Memo on Mac

  3. When finished recording your voice memo, click the pause button – you can resume recording if desired

    4. How to record a Voice Memo on Mac

  4. Edit or playback the voice memo if desired, otherwise just click on the “Done” button to save the recording
    How to record a Voice Memo on Mac
  5. Find the newly recorded voice memo now visible in the list of voice recordings, where you can share or save the voice memo or audio file as needed too.

    6. Recorded Voice Memos on Mac

Remember, any voice memos recorded here on the Mac will also be available in the Voice Memos app on iPhone or iPad too, and vice versa. As of writing, there does not seem to be a setting for setting local storage versus iCloud storage for the Voice Memos.

Note that Voice Memos on Mac will record audio from whatever the selected audio input microphone is on the Mac. That is usually the built-in microphone by default, unless you are using a separate external microphone with the Mac. For optimal sound quality, you might want to use an external dedicated microphone, so if you plan on using the app for some professional purpose you may want to do that.

Helpful Voice Memos Keystrokes for Mac

  • Command + N – start a new Voice Memo recording right away
  • Spacebar – play or pause a voice memo
  • Command + D – duplicate a selected voice memo
  • Delete – delete and remove a selected voice memo

keyboard shortcuts for Voice Memos on a Mac

There are many practical purposes for voice memos, whether you’re wanting to capture a simple note to yourself, a voice of someone, some quick music or audio recording, record phone calls (with permission, check your local laws!), record an interview, or myriad other reasons.

The Voice Memos app is certainly a helpful addition to the Mac, but you may have noticed something is different about it compared to other Mac apps. If it seems like the Voice Memos app doesn’t really feel like a normal Mac app, that’s probably because it isn’t one. Instead, it’s a Marzipan app, which basically means it’s an iPad app with the iPad touch interface that is ported onto the Mac, which can lead to some curious usability quirks. Presumably these apps will be refined down the road with more Mac-like features, with more keystrokes, menus and menu options, storage and preference settings, appearances, and interactions, or maybe not, time will tell.

Anyway, enjoy Voice Memos on the Mac! Ands if you have any comments, thoughts, or tips about the Voice Memos app for Mac, share with us in the comments below!

Source: OSX Daily

January 10, 2019 0 comment
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How to Install VirtualBox in MacOS Mojave if Installation Fails or Shows Kernel Driver Errors

written by applenws

If you have attempted to install VirtualBox in macOS Mojave you may have noticed the installation sometimes fails with a generic “The installation failed” error message. Then, when trying to run VirtualBox you may experience another error saying “Kernel driver not installed” and VirtualBox fails to function.

The reason for the installation failure and the inability for the kernel module to load successfully is due to security restrictions in MacOS Mojave, and thus to be able to successfully install VirtualBox and run the app you will need to make a relatively simple bypass of those aforementioned security restrictions (alternatively, you can also disable Gatekeeper completely but that is generally not recommended). By the way, while this article is obviously focused on VirtualBox you will find this same general process is necessary for installing other apps that include kernel extensions.

Assuming you have already downloaded VirtualBox onto the Mac (it’s free to download here), here is how you can successfully install and run VirtualBox in MacOS Mojave:

  1. Run the VirtualBox installer as usual, you’ll eventually see the “Installation Failed” message

    2. VirtualBox install fails

  2. Quit out of the VirtualBox installer after it fails
  3. Now pull down the  Apple menu and open System Preferences
  4. Choose “Security & Privacy” and go to the ‘General’ tab within Security preference panel, then click the lock button and enter the administrator password
  5. At the bottom of the Security General section, look for the message stating “System software from developer ‘Oracle America, Inc’ was blocked from loading” and click the “Allow” button

    6. Allow the Oracle installer to run on Mac

  6. Relaunch the VirtualBox installer and proceed through the installation as usual, it should now succeed as expected

    7. Virtualbox successful install

Go ahead and run VirtualBox as usual, it should load fine without any further kernel driver error messages. In the screenshot below you see VirtualBox running in MacOS 10.14.x with BeOS / Haiku OS.

VirtualBox running BeOS Haiku OS in MacOS

If you’re an advanced user (and you probably are you’re running virtualization software and virtual machines in the first place) then you might be interested in allowing apps to be installed from anywhere in MacOS by adjusting Gatekeeper as instructed here.

For some quick background, GateKeeper is the Mac OS security mechanism that aims to prevent untrusted apps from being run. By default, the more modern versions of MacOS have particularly strict Gatekeeper settings and will throw error messages stating that an app can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer and so forth, though simply right-clicking and choosing “Open” on most apps allows you to bypass that mechanism, and you can also bypass that from the Security preference panel too. The newest macOS releases, like Mojave, take this further and also will require Gatekeeper bypass for installing certain software that bundles kernel extensions as well, such as VirtualBox. If you’re not thrilled with those protective mechanisms to MacOS, you can always disable Gatekeeper completely and disable System Integrity Protection as well, though doing so is generally not recommended.

Source: OSX Daily

December 31, 2018 0 comment
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How to Use zsh as Default in Terminal for Mac OS

written by applenws

Zsh, or z shell, is a popular shell alternative to bash and tcsh, complete with many improvements and customization options offered through the Oh-My-ZSH project.

If you’d like to use zsh as the default shell in Terminal for Mac OS rather than bash, you can do so rather easily with taking the following steps:

How to Set zsh as Default Shell in Terminal for Mac

  1. Open the Terminal app and pull down the “Terminal” menu, choosing “Preferences”
  • To change all shells to default to zsh:
    • Choose the “General” tab and change “Shells open with:” to “Command (complete path)” and place the following:

      • /bin/zsh/

    Change Terminal default shell to zsh

  • To change a specific profile shell to zsh:
    • Choose the “Profiles” tab and select a profile to adjust from the list (or create a custom one)
    • Go to the “Shell” tab and check “Run command:” and enter “zsh”

    Change a specific profile to zsh

  • Open a new Terminal window or open a new window with the specific profile you set zsh for, you’ll now have zsh as your default

    • This change to zsh as the default shell will persist between quitting and relaunching Terminal, though any currently active shells or terminal windows would need to refresh or manually enter zsh.

    Yes there are other ways to do this, but interestingly enough, specifying a shell to open actually helps to speed up the Terminal app in Mac OS in many cases, so it may offer a performance boost as well (for the record, it doesn’t need to be zsh to get the speed improvement, you can change the default shell to anything available on the Mac for the same effect).

    You can also change iTerm, the popular Terminal replacement, to use zsh as the default shell by going to the app Preferences and adjusting Profiles > General > Command to ‘zsh’

    Change iTerm shell to zsh as default

    Now that you have zsh as your default shell in MacOS or Mac OS X, you may want to take a look at the great oh-my-zsh project at https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh to find themes, functions, and other customizations to bring to zsh.

Source: OSX Daily

December 29, 2018 0 comment
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